and we hope to see your sketches on Facebook or on Flickr very soon! :)

Do please let us know if you are new and where you come from - we're always pleased to see new faces and to link up with you. You can leave a comment at the end of this post.....

Logistics

On a practical note, we've certainly noticed that emphasising that:

the "Let's Draw" event is FREE; and

there's no need to book

gets a very positive response from people! :)

However it would be great to also get some feedback about the maps. The use of a map link embedded in the notice of the "Let's Draw" even seems to be working quite well - for all those with smartphones. I think maybe we need to think about creating a downloadable pdf for those with no phone but access to a printer. This saves organisers from having to personally cut down trees to print off maps ;) - but more to the point means that when the organiser's printer has decided not to work(!!) we still have a way of getting the "where is everything" out to people.

Some photos from the day

I'm going to show you in this blog post how much easier it is for me to include your sketches if you tweet them!

Here's kickoff under cover at the top of the steps in front of St Paul's and that's me up on the little ledge so people could hear me more clearly over the noise of the traffic and the tourists.

after your application for membership of the Urban Sketchers London Flickr Group has been approved. The review of your application for membership depends on the sketches on your own account. You don't have to be really good at sketching but your sketches do need to conform to our rules - see below

All drawings posted to the group were drawn on location IN LONDON, not from photos or memory. Your membership will be terminated if you repeatedly post sketches of places other than London.
• The location of the sketch IN LONDON is always included in the headline or caption or the image is located on your public Flickr map.
*The only photos which can be posted to the Group MUST relate to Urban Sketchers London Sketchcrawls - on the date of the sketchcrawl
• No sketches from figure drawing sessions or posed models will be posted to the Group Pool
* No objects or figures without a location context which is a place in London will be posted to the Group Pool (ie sketches of people in locations are OK; sketches of people in isolation are not)

Wednesday, 22 April 2015

Walking around South bank with a friend on Monday we stopped a couple of times to draw - the first time was spurred by the many building cranes along the north bank. I noticed the great amount of trees along the north bank - still not green.

In doing the second view, we were amidst the people enjoying a warm Monday afternoon after work, the buzz and activity is only possible in London. It was impossible to get anything but either water or pimms at the roof top bar we were sat at. Water it was.
A great setting, Royal Festival Hall, London Eye, with Houses of Parliament beyond, Big Ben, Hungerford Bridge, the Thames

Tuesday, 21 April 2015

St Mary Abchurch, Abchurch Lane EC4This lovely little piece of Wren is tucked away in-between King William Street and Cannon Street. I can't believe I didn't want to draw it before. This church is also home to an outfit called Friends of the City Churches. Anyway, pretty it may not be but wacky it certainly is.

Saturday, 18 April 2015

The date of the next Let's Draw event is being moved to a day earlier - SATURDAY 25th APRIL - which coincidentally is also the next International Sketchcrawl date.

The reason is that the London Marathon is being run on Sunday 26th April. Although the Marathon route actually takes the runners under the area we will be (through the tunnel) there will still be lots of people around and the travel issues relating to the huge numbers of people who come to London to watch will make travel very much more challenging than usual.

The logistics problems will be much reduced on the Saturday.

PLEASE SHARE with anybody you think is coming and don't assume they have seen this or the notices in the Facebook group.

Please also go on Sunday 26th April and sketch the Marathon if you don't mind crowds and transport delays/problems!

Let's Draw in May

The next Let's Draw event will be at Kew Gardens (admission fee of £14) and the provisional date (to be confirmed) is Sunday 17th May.

Friday, 10 April 2015

It’s the annual Boat Race tomorrow along the Thames so it seemed a
good opportunity to go and draw at some point along the route. I chose Barnes, spending a really lovely
afternoon sketching the river and some of the neighbouring buildings in a very
well-heeled part of town. When the
rowers from Oxford and Cambridge pass under Barnes Bridge, they will be almost
at the end of their 6.8km battle which has been taking place between the rival universities
since 1829.

About Urban Sketchers London

Urban Sketchers is a network of artists around the world who draw the cities where they live and travel to. Our mission is to "Show the World, One Drawing at a Time." Visit the main Urban Sketchers blog for more information.